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Last update: October 2007
Background
Etika – Initiativ fir Alternativ Finanzéierung is a non-profit
organisation, founded in December 1996 in Luxembourg.
Its founding members are associations engaged in the field of
environmental protection, the promotion of biodynamic agriculture, the
promotion of positive social action and the international solidarity.
The association has ten members so far:
- Action Solidarité Tiers Monde (ASTM),
- Appui au Développement Autonome (ADA),
- Cercle de coopération des ONG de développement,
- Coopérative Co-labor,
- Fondation Caritas Luxembourg,
- Haus vun der Natur,
- Inter-Actions,
- SOS-Faim Luxembourg,
- Stëftung Ökofonds,
- Veräin fir biologesch dynamesch Landwirtschaft Lëtzebuerg (Demeter Bond)
Structure
Etika is an association founded by associations, which are active in the field of environmental protection and in the social and international solidarity. The structures of etika are:
- the board of directors, who decide the general guidelines of the association
- the credit committee, which evaluates the merit of the proposed projects in the light of environmental, social and economic sustainability.
The members of the two bodies are volunteers, elected by the general assembly of the association. Two employees round up the team.
Activities
Etika was founded to respond to two needs:
- to propose the Luxembourgian investor financial products, which guarantee both the responsible character of the investment (promotion of projects having a strong social and/or environmental added value, which exclude projects that have a negative impact on humans or the environment) and the transparency of the money invested as well as the object of the investment
- raising awareness of the Luxembourgian population on SRI (socially responsible investment) products without promoting a particular project or a particular institution
Etika has created, in cooperation with the Luxembourgian public bank, the
Banque et Caisse d’Epargne de l’Etat (BCEE), a product called the
“Alternativ Savings Account”. This account is similar to a classical
savings account in terms of security and liquidity(the capital and the interests are
guaranteed). It differs from the classical savings account
in the sense that it responds to the criteria of transparency and
responsibility mentioned above. The “alternative saver” accepts a somewhat
lower interest rate compared to that of the classical account, which
allows the BCEE to hand out the credit at a lower interest rate to
projects which have been selected by etika and the bank.
Today there are more than 550 people holding an alternative savings
account, with which it was possible to finance more than 125 projects in
different sectors, like:
- the production of alternative energies
- the production and distribution of organically grown food
- the promotion of positive social action for the weaker
- the promotion of cultural diversity
- the revival of local communities
- development actions in less developed countries
Everyone holding an alternative savings account is regularly informed
through the newsletter “etika info” which gives information on how the
money is invested and is published three times a year, the website and the annual report.
The other activity of etika is to raise the awareness of the Luxembourgian
population, the financial community and the public authorities on the
question of social finance and SRI. We do this through public conferences,
in schools, exhibitions or different publications. For example, Etika
published the first ever socially responsible investment guide for
Luxembourg in 2007.
Key figures
Evolution of Alternative Savings up to 30 September 2007
